10,465 Years
by Borglone writes
Summary: She wants forever with him, indeterminable years instead of concrete numbers. She thought she would have that. But fate – as it happens so very frequently in her life – had other plans.


_**A tribute for the late and great David Bowie, the one and only Jareth the Goblin King. Thank you for enriching each and every one of our lives .**_

 **Disclaimer : Labyrinth and all its characters does not belong to me.**

Enjoy and if you have the time, please leave a little review :)

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10.465 years.

For mortals, that amount of time seems like such a long time to live, incomprehensible even. But to Sarah, who is barely even mortal anymore, it's still not long enough.

Not long enough to spend it with _him_.

Jareth.

Her nemesis once upon a time, so long ago that she barely even remembers it anymore.

Her best friend

Her lover

Her husband

The father of their 7 children

Love of her life

And her precious, arrogant, preening, lovable Goblin King.

She wants forever with him, indeterminable years instead of concrete numbers. She thought she would have that. But fate – as it happens so very frequently in her life – had other plans.

She honestly thought that she would be the one to die first, when he explained to her, way back when she first transformed, that she wouldn't be a fully-fledged Fae. She foolishly assumed that being a fully-fledged Fae meant being immortal, and her being a half Fae would mean that _she_ would be the one to die first, if at all. He never cleared her from that assumption, damn that _sneaky_ , arrogant Goblin King of hers.

She had thought at that time, that it's okay. That she'd rather leave first than be the one left behind. She had said so to him, Jareth — her darling,infuriating Jareth, to which he had merely smiled. Which is strange, when she thinks about it now. He always, _always_ had to have the last word. Maybe even back then he knew or suspected something like this would happen, but did not wish to tell her. Out of a misguided sense to protect her, she thinks. Or even worse, to show her that he did have the last word after all.

It's just _so_ like him.

Looking at his still – _too_ still, he should be _moving_ – form lying motionless in front of her,suddenly, Sarah has the absurd urge to laugh and cry at the same time. Damn that husband of hers. He has – _had_ , she should remember that now– that uncanny ability to frustrate her, and make her fell in love with him all over again.

She is unable to cry, not right now when the grief is too fresh. When the shock hasn't yet left her system. It doesn't feel real for Sarah. Standing in front of his unmoving body, laid down atop a flower bed on a dais, flowers that _their_ darling children personally and lovingly styled, because they just know their father would throw a fit out _there_ if they let anybody else do it. He never trust.. _ed_ anyone other than his family members to do it – excluding Sarah, because according to him, she was not raised by his standards of beauty - to have a sense of aesthetic. That _infuriating_ man.

Jareth's hand folded atop his chest, eyes closed. Mouth shaped in a faint moue, and a hint of a slightly mocking, yet peaceful, smile on his face. Looking at him now, she wouldn't even think that he no longer has any life force. His presence is still too huge, even in a crowded room full of their children, her loyal friends that she made in that fateful day, Kingdom Officials, and Foreign Dignitaries from various Kingdoms in the Underground who are attending his… funeral.

His _passing_ to Aether.

Sarah has to force herself not to grit her teeth every time she thinks about it.

As of this day, she is a widow, she thinks. She doesn't want to say or even hear the dreaded word uttered anywhere in her vicinity. _Widow_...such an unpleasant sound. She decides she doesn't want that kind of bitter reminder. Not yet, at least.

She notices that she's slowly getting slightly hysterical. It seems, Sarah thinks, that the shock has finally left her system and she's starting to feel her loss keenly. She tries to hold it down. Now is not the time to break down. That time will be when all of this is truly over and she is _alone_ in _their_ room – _oh God_ \- and she's free to wreak havoc and cry until there are no tears left to shed. Right now, she is a Queen, and she has people to impress and maintain appearances to. Jareth always expects - _expected_ the best from her, after all, and she intends to deliver, for she never has and never will disappoint.

By now, the ceremony procession has finished. Everyone is expected to leave this room, so her husband can be peacefully taken to Aether. Slowly, one by one, everyone present in the funeral has left until it is just Sarah, their children, and Jareth, - No, Jareth's _body_ – inside the children were looking at her with such expressions, sadness and dare she say a bit of pity? Not a dry eye in their faces.

They're also grieving, she knows. He is – _was_ – their father after all, and a great one at that, but they wouldn't understand. They've never been left like this. Left forever by the love of their lives. Really she wouldn't wish this on anybody.

She turns down their offer to walk her out of this place, she's grieving not an invalid, and politely requests them to give her a private moment with her husband. She only has this moment with him after all, and she has a thing or two she really needs to say to that infuriating man.

Sarah approaches the dais where her husband is laid, uncaring if she crushes the beautiful flowers. She knows he would have pouted at that if he could see her. Well _really_ , it's his own fault for being such a peacock.

Sarah puts her hands on both sides of his face, softly stroking his cheek for the last time, memorizing every contour on his face and the softness of his skin on her fingers. The face that she knows so well, the face that she saw first when she woke up every morning, and the face that she saw last before she went to sleep. Sarah will not see his beautiful face for a long time, so she tries desperately to drink in the view and burn it in her memory. His face is older, more wrinkled, and frailer than when she first met him, but just as, if not more, beautiful than when she first laid eyes on him.

This larger-than-life persona that graced her life and had the gall to change it so immensely. Turning her world upside down just as she did his. Defying her expectations and those of the people around them, unpredictable as ever, even in his last days. Not informing the public that he was soon to pass, while holding a huge festival for their people, to commemorate a successful year, as misdirection and a parting gift for the citizens in his Kingdom, the citizens that he had ruled long before Sarah even came into the picture. If he's going, he's going out with a 'Bang', he drawled. So people would long remember of him and his Reign. Really such a _Jareth_ thing to do.

She would take care though, to remember his face and every expression it made. What his voice sounded like when he spoke, when he crooned love songs in her ear - _of painting mornings in gold_ \- in their private moments or when he belted tunes to their children, lulling them to sleep. She would remember every precious moment that they shared, from the most passionate, happiest, quiet, and even the times when they frustrated each other.

She will miss him. The wait will be unbearable at times, of that she is sure, and truly she is dreading those moments. She dreads going back to their room and spending the rest of her life there alone, waiting until fate will be kind enough to send her to where her Beloved is. But she would persevere, because she is _the_ Sarah that Jareth fell in love with, and because she knows he's waiting out _there_ for her. She can wait until she can finally join him in their forever, inseparable for real this time. For now though, their children and their kingdom need her as their Queen.

She carefully lowers her head and presses her forehead to his, just like how they used to do it when he was still alive. Eyes closed, she softly kisses his forehead, moving down, giving tiny kisses along the way until she reaches his lips. She kisses him hard, then, remembering the shape and taste of his lips, because as much as she _hates_ to think about it, this will be their last kiss for a long time. She needs to make it count. All the while, tears she had been holding slowly drips from her eyes.

There had never been inhibitions between them and not even death would change that, because she wouldn't let it. Sarah lifts her head, and as defiant as when she stood up against him for the first time long ago, with tears in her eyes she stares hard at his beautiful face for the last time in this life.

"You promised me forever, Jareth. I'm going to hold on to that. So wait for me in there."

As she turns back and walks to follow the rest of her family out of the shrine, she thinks she hears a faint, slightly mocking laugh that she loves so much.

' _It's only forever precious, not long at all._ '

Sarah smiles. She knows she is going to be okay.

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 **Author Notes** : Originally posted on Ao3 a few days after January 10th and I have only recently able to post in here since for some reason they won't let me accept the new rules and guidelines until just now.

I know it's late, but it's never too late to appreciate Bowie. I decided to portray the grief from Sarah's point of view, to reflects the grief that we all felt as his fans after hearing the word of his passing. I only just known of his greatness very recently as a matter of fact, but I felt the loss just as keenly. Labyrinth is where i truly found out what an awesome and amazing person Bowie was, so I thought it very fitting to give a tribute in the form of Labyrinth fic.

p.s. The last scene where Sarah was kissing Jareth's face? That was the first image that popped into my head and served as the inspiration for this entire fic. I love that scene and I hope you do too.

p.p.s Special thanks to Colorblind city being my beta, you are the absolute best darling!

I hope you guys enjoy this, and give me a little review when you have the time :)


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